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By SHAWN BERRY
berry.shawn@dailygleaner.com

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Rayla Larson's mother and father won't soon forget their sudden start to 2009.

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BUNDLE OF JOY: parents Gordon larson and Amanda Robar are shown with daughter Manira Robar, 7, and the new addition to their family Rayla larson. Rayla was the first baby born in 2009 at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional hospital.

The new year got off to an early start with the arrival of the year's first baby in the Fredericton region.

Amanda Robar was jolted awake at 4:30 a.m. Thursday by contractions.

Two hours later, her daughter Rayla was born at eight pounds (3.63 kilograms).

Gordon Larson said the birth of his daughter is an amazing thing.

"There nothing like it. Seeing a new life is just amazing. It's kind of cool," he said Thursday at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital.

"I was there for the both of them," he said. "I didn't pass out."

Mother and baby are happy and healthy.

Rayla's birth on the first day of 2009 wasn't expected. Rayla was supposed to be born Jan. 12.

"She's early," Robar said, smiling as she cradled the sleeping newborn in her arms.

"It was a little nerve-racking," she said.

But the delivery went quickly and smoothly.

Rayla's older sister, Manira Robar, 7, said she's excited about being a big sister to Rayla and has already done some shopping for her.

"We found a really cute dress with a bonnet and some little shoes," she said.

Amanda Robar said Manira was really hoping for a sister.

In what has become a local tradition, Dr. Erica Frecker, an obstetrician/gynecologist at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital, presented the family with an infant car seat.

The car seat was presented on behalf of the New Brunswick Medical Society as a means of creating awareness about the importance of proper use of child restraints.